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27 April 2016

Remo D. Belli, 1927-2016

Bluegrass Today records the passing of a man whose life work has affected banjo-players everywhere. Remo D. Belli, born of Italian descent in South Bend, Indiana, began playing drums at the age of 12, and in the 1950s set up Drum City in Los Angeles as not just a store, but a meeting place for drummers and drum makers. In 1957 he used Mylar to invent the first successful plastic drum head, and his Remo company subsequently developed a very wide range of heads to meet different requirements - including the needs of banjo-players.

According to Steve Huber, Earl Scruggs first recorded with a Remo head on his banjo in 1961. Remo also manufactured heads for other companies, and Huber Banjos is one of them. Read more on Bluegrass Today and here.